2017 NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll — No. 10 (FINAL)

Final regular-season rating sees Martin Methodist grab No. 1 for seventh time this year

November 07, 2017

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Story by Chad Waller, Director of Athletics Communications & Media

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the seventh time in 11 polls,Martin Methodist (Tenn.) boasts the No. 1 ranking in the final regular-season edition of the NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The NAIA National Championship Opening Round qualifiers and bracket will be revealed via live video selection show on Monday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. CDT by clicking HERE.

Champions of the Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season crown, the RedHawks tallied 14-of-17 first-place votes to go along with 465 points.

Martin Methodist ranks No. 1 in the NAIA in four major offensive statistical categories, including goals per game (5.4) and assists per game (6.2). The RedHawks are looking to appear in their 14th-consecutive NAIA National Championship.

No. 2 University of Northwestern Ohio finished with three first-place votes to hold steady in the top five for the 12th-straight week dating back to last year.

The top 15 programs all held their ranking from last week, and there were no newcomers entering the poll.

Spring Arbor now holds the longest active streak in the Top 25 after Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), which had previously appeared in 202-consecutive Top 25 Polls, dropped out in the Oct. 24 edition. The Cougars have been listed in 83-straight polls. No. 6 Keiser (Fla.) is next on the list with 81-consecutive Top 25’s.

Lindsey Wilson own the most No. 1 rankings since 1999 with 58, followed by former member Azusa Pacific (Calif.) with 32, Westmont (Calif.) and former member Concordia (Ore.) with 19, Martin Methodist at 17, former member Lee (Tenn.) and Spring Arbor with 14.

Poll Methodology

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.

The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.

The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.

Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes